Missing girl found in Mexico with dad

In the nearly five years since Cara Cox disappeared with her father during a court-ordered weekend visit, deputies say she has been living under an assumed name in a remote region in Mexico.

The Volusia County girl, now 12 years old, was reunited with her mother Saturday. Her father, Aaron Cox, 55, was arrested and faces charges of interfering with child custody.

They were found in the mountains of Hidalgo, Mexico, about two hours outside of Mexico City.

Before Saturday, the girl's mother, Jodie Borchert of Deltona, had not seen her daughter since August 2009, when Cara was only 8 years old. At the time, Borchert had legal custody of the girl, but Cox still had the right to see Cara on weekends.

On the weekend of Aug. 14, 2009, Borchert dropped her daughter off at Cox's Deltona home, but when she went to pick the girl up days later, deputies say, Cox and Cara were nowhere to be found.

Borchert reported the girl missing immediately.

For nearly five years, deputies searched for the father-daughter duo. Eventually experts with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children stepped in to help too.

Using one of the most recent pictures of Cara that her family could provide along with pictures of other family members, NCMEC investigators released digitally age-progressed pictures of the girl every two years. The most recent photo shows what Cara would look like today.

Deputies did not release an actual picture of the girl Saturday.

Despite the investigation, the years passed without a single viable lead.

But Monday, that all changed.

Deputies say a tipster contacted NCMEC and said the girl was in Mexico.

For the next five days Volusia deputies worked with the U.S. Marshals Service, local prosecutors, Mexican authorities and an international-fugitive task force to find Cara and bring her back to Deltona.

After days of searching, officials found the girl in Hidalgo. Investigators say Cox had no ties to Mexico, and he and his daughter were living by fake names. Those names were not revealed Saturday.

Cox is still in a Mexico jail waiting to be transported back to Florida to face charges in the abduction.

Federal officials rushed a passport to the girl so she could be reunited with her mother. Borchert could not be reached for comment Saturday.